Firehouse Center for the Arts

Firehouse Center for the Arts

Newburyport, Massachusetts

The City of Newburyport and a regional non-profit arts organization engaged Schwartz/Silver to design a community arts center in an 1801 Lyceum building most recently used as a firehouse. The program called for a 200 seat professional theater, together with an art gallery and a cafe. An addition to the rear of the building, modern in design and yet sympathetic enough to the architectural heritage of the city to be a part of it, establishes itself as a second front to the building, presiding over a public park and the Merrimack River waterfront.

Recognition

National Honor Award: American Institute of ArchitectsMerit Award: American Institute of Architects, New England Region Honor Award: Boston Society of Architects

In the old fire station’s latest reincarnation, as a center for the arts, Schwartz/Silver has developed a strong architectural dialogue between old and new, illustrating that the most appropriate preservation acknowledges the changing process of design. 